Black History Month 2026: Art Isn’t an Excuse for Racism

Day 27

Thanks to some people in the comments my Facebook post, I was able to find out who made this image. Her name is Michelle Olens. I have provided links to her social media at the end of this article!

Being an artist doesn’t make racism okay. There are ways to draw Black people without turning them into racist caricatures. There are ways to cosplay Black characters without adopting Black hairstyles (e.g. cornrows) or engaging in Blackface.

Additionally, you can’t use the excuse “I’m just trying to get in character/trying to be authentic” for dressing up in a racist way or drawing Black people in a racist way. There are plenty of ways to portray racism against Black people in art without creating racist art!

Image Artist, Michelle Olens:

https://community.wacom.com/en-us/drawing-while-black-2023/

https://www.artstation.com/m-olens

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